


Three Makes a Crowd

by reyzul (MaK)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crush, F/F, Unfinished, won't be finished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6232495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaK/pseuds/reyzul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot likes rooming with Pearl, but doesn't much care for Lapis' interruptions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Makes a Crowd

It was an obvious enough suggestion to make, really. It's not like you're _mad_ at Amethyst for bringing it up - you're not! Truly, you aren't - but, honestly, you're just a bit... well, upset, that the suggestion was never made for _you_. Not that, at the time, it would've made much sense; after all, you were firstly bubbled by the Crystal Gems before you actually entered their house on your own behalf. Still, no one suggested to _you_ that you could have your own room (though, you did sort of steal the "bathroom" from Steven and claim it as your own) or you could, perhaps, _share_ a room with someone. Namely, that someone you would have liked is Pearl. Amethyst's room is nice and so is Garnet's, but... well, neither of them have _Pearl's_ room, so it's an obvious preference to have. But, no one ever suggested to you that you could share Pearl's room! 

And here you stand, fuming silently as the suggestion hangs in the air after escaping Amethyst's mouth. "You could sleep in Pearl's room!" _Ugh._ You'd be leaping with joy if you had heard that, but it wasn't directed at you - _no,_ it was directed at _Lapis._ She doesn't even seem all that excited about it in the first place! She's look away, staring in Amethyst's direction but not really meeting the gem's eyes, and seems generally disinterested with the whole idea. How _rude_! Yet, despite her behavior, she receives no spray from the water bottle near Steven's hand (for some reason, that seems to be a punishment reserved only for you). 

Lapis hasn't even really offered an answer, really only humming and putting out a quiet, "Maybe." 

Meanwhile, you look at Pearl. She's... probably even less enthused about the suggestion than Lapis is. And, honestly, that reaction makes you a little bit happy - okay, a _lot_ bit happy. You were worried, just for a moment, that Pearl might have liked the idea of rooming with Lapis. If _that_ were to happen, that blue gem could have easily undone all the hard work you've put forth in an attempt to gain Pearl's affections. Luckily, though, the chance of Pearl being at all happy about the suggest arrangement seems - to your calculations, at least - extremely low. 

You grin and throw a particularly cocky grin towards Lapis' direction. She'd been butting heads with you practically the entire time she'd been here - and it hasn't even been that long since she's risen out of the ocean with no sight of Jasper around! But, at least here, she wouldn't be getting in your way. As an added plus, Amethyst's suggestion could be used in the future, to your benefit (obviously), when asking if maybe _you_ could sleep in Pearl's room. You're not a big fan of the water or anything (not in the same way Lapis is), but you're a big fan of Pearl, so it'd be beyond worthwhile. 

Hubris, though, could be your greatest downfall.

Lapis glances towards you while opening her mouth to give a final response and you _see_ that look in her eyes. Like she _knows_ exactly what to do to make you just that much more angry. " _Actually_ ," she starts and you drop the grin you'd previously been holding onto. "I think staying in Pearl's room would be quite nice."

It takes a great amount of self-control to not blurt out, " _Why_!?" You already know the answer to that anyway. She doesn't really care too much about Pearl - not like you do, anyway - but, she is quite chipper when it comes to rubbing you off in the worst way possible. So. Apparently, her goal has been achieved. 

Two can play at that game, though.

Before any other word can be spoken, you announce, "If that's the case, I can stay in Pearl's room too." It's not really a question, just an obvious fact. Lapis' shortly held smirk falls and she glares at you. 

"Okay, wait," Pearl interrupts, waving her hands back and forth to push away the atmospheric tension. "I haven't had a say in _any_ of this..." she pauses and then meekly adds, "Garnet?" while looking for guidance.

The tallest of the gems hums and you wish you could see past her visor and guess at the expression she's making. Given that it's Garnet, that expression is probably just as telling as her face is right now, with it being half covered, so, it would be fruitless, but - goddamn - you just want to know what she's about to say. 

It feels like forever has passed until she finally says something. 

"Approved." 

Amethyst laughs at about the same time Pearl exclaims, "Huh!?" and, meanwhile, you and Lapis lock eyes and glare at each other for a unique second. 

You're not terribly happy with the decision. For one, Lapis' request to sleep in Pearl's room was approved. On the other hand, so was your's. But, for another con, that means you're going to be sharing Pearl's room with Lapis too, not just Pearl, like you had hoped. Furthermore, you doubt she's going to let you get any personal time in at all - and how in the world are you going to be able to successfully further your affections with Pearl if you have a noisy, crude gem in the background who keeps sloshing the water all around and whose only goal is to make you angry? If you had asked yourself that question a week or so ago, you'd probably answer that it was futile and that your mission should be abandoned and a new method developed. However, a week or so ago was a time without Lapis wandering about and making a mess of things, so - now - you have a point to prove. 

It'll be hard, obviously. Getting Pearl's attention is a challenge enough as is without anyone getting in the way, but you're determined and your odd rivalry with Lapis only fuels that determination. 

Or, so you think, anyway. 

As it would turn out, butting heads with her at all hours of the night can become pretty exhausting. Normally, you'd be in the bathroom and she would have been on the beach or in the barn, tinkering about with her own nonsense; now, though, you share a room and... well, it's going about as well as you would have expected it to. You _want_ to climb up these damn towers of water and talk with Pearl, who's busying herself with her own items at the very top, but you haven't really figured out the dynamic behind all this water and, with an obvious advantage that is completely unfair, Lapis is harassing you for it. 

"Have you _never_ been in water before?" she asks, floating a safe distance away from you on her own controlled stream of water, smirking and taunting relentlessly. 

While Lapis sits calm and relaxed, you're troubling yourself with standing upright for very long. You had even gone through the process of asking Amethyst just how exactly Pearl's room works - you knew there was water, and a lot of it, but you didn't think it was like _this_ \- and she, already aware of your ulterior motives, did her best to offer some sort of explanation. From her knowledge, you had assumed the water would be dense enough to be walked on like any sort of regular matter on Earth - this would be wrong, though, and you suspect that Amethyst was either, A, tricking you, or, B, was already used to the dynamics of Pearl's room and simply explained to you how she understood it, not how it really was. You prefer the latter option, but that's a discussion you'll probably have with her later - that is, if you can even find your way _out_ of this place. As it is, the water is just about as dense as the water in the sea outside - which is: not dense at all! With the right kind of balance, you get yourself to stand upright for awhile or more, but walking is completely out of the question. It makes sense, you suppose, for Pearl to have this sort of room - her entire technique is about balance and skill, after all - but, you can't really appreciate the interesting choices she's made when you've only barely managed to keep your head above the water at all. 

Lapis watches you for awhile more and you do your best to ignore her. It seems to work fairly well, as after a little bit of time has passed she rolls her eyes and groans, " _Gosh_ , you're boring." _As if you were trying to entertain her!_ You don't reply and she falls quiet for just a little longer. Then, you hear her giggle - just slightly, not all that loudly or noticeably if you hadn't been listening - and you watch as she sort of... disappears. At least, so it appears. You then watch as she glides through the water easily and roll your eyes - at least, she's finally done bothering you. 

Meanwhile, you focus on this troublesome water. 

You've gotten a bit better at this whole balancing-thing without your limb enhancers, though if you had still had them you could have easily adjusted the technology to better suit this sort of environment. Water is tricky, though. Especially, this water.

You figure that the water is densest in the middle - as is where all the force is located once the water spout reaches its peak - and there's enough surface tension there to stand upright with relative ease. It's outside of this safe zone that you begin to encounter trouble, though. 

Depending on the size of the spout, you can only walk so far. The one you're currently on, the one giving you the most trouble, is terribly small and you had misjudged your distance when you initially hopped to it - it's almost impossible now to reach any of the taller towers of water nearby and, when you do attempt to step off of the middle of the spout, the force from the upcoming stream draws you back in and rolls you about in an awkward, forceful jet stream that requires quite a bit of time and concentration to disrupt in order to stand up once again. 

To put it simply: you're not having fun here. 

"Honestly, Peridot..." you jump, attempt to turn around, and slide onto your bottom in the least graceful way possible. Pearl's voice startled you and it takes a moment to orientate yourself and stand up once more, meeting her gaze. "I don't know _why_ you wanted to come into my room. It's such a hassle to get used to." 

You nod. "Yes, yes, it is." You're afraid to move much more than that and risk falling on your butt again. 

Luckily, such a fate is successfully diminished, as Pearl picks you up and takes you away from the water's rough dynamics. 

When she had first gotten into this habit, you were embarrassed. You had really only been used to Garnet picking you up from time to time, but, even then, Garnet never held you like Pearl did - which was, and is, close to her chest and carefully tucked between her arms, in a way that felt uncomfortable at first but, now, you're more than happy with the position. The height difference between the two of you is apparent and, at times, awkward, but you can't help feeling like your short stature is a bonus in this situation; you feel protected, safe, and - well, simply - _happy_ in Pearl's arms. You're quite content, for lack of a better word, with being so close to her. 

"You could've asked for some help, you know," she carries on and you nod with her words. Yes, you _could_ have asked for help, but that would have been a bit too embarrassing in front of Lapis - though, it's not as if you can pretend and say that falling around as much as you had down was any less embarrassing than simply asking for assistance. 

"I didn't want to disturb you and your business," you state simply. Casually (or, in a way that you prays comes off as casual), you wrap your arms around Pearl's neck and nestle just a little bit closer to her. She has to blow a little bit of your hair out of her face and you both laugh a little and, _yesss_ , this is what you were hoping for! _Finally_ , you can get closer to Pearl - both physically and emotionally - and further your affections. You could even...

You hesitate on the thought, as your face turns a bright green.

You could even... _kiss._

With your face out of Pearl's view, you grin to yourself and try not to worry too much about your flushing face. 

The concept, while certainly strange, has grown on you. Humans have a lot of weird customs and truly confusing habits, but the act of kissing is one you've grown to love rather than to be disgusted by it.

Not that you've ever had a kiss.

(Not yet, anyway.)

But, you've seen Garnet peck Steven's forehead and witnessed Pearl doing much the some of the technical pieces of art she's applied herself to (and never have you been more jealous of metal scraps than you were in those moments). Amethyst has done it with food on countless occasions and you've seen The Dad - or Greg, as Steven prefers you to call him - press kisses to the front of his vehicle after giving it a thorough polishing with soap and water. You've seen plenty of kisses during your time on Earth. Mostly, the kisses you've witnessed were between people and objects - rarely have you witnessed the action between two actual creatures (besides Steven and Garnet, that is, but you're not foolish enough to think there's no difference between _that_ sort of kiss and other kinds). Only in a few episodes of various TV series have you seen two humans kiss in ways that weren't just for familial affections - and with that much exposure, you've really only seen a little, as Steven won't allow you to watch anything "PG-13" (whatever that means) without supervision. 

So, you're not 100% positive about the whole business behind "kissing," but you want to kiss Pearl. You're certainly 100% positive about _that_ business! And, now that you share a room with her, you definitely have a better chance of finally succeeding with that kiss than you ever have had before - and you're pretty damn excited about that.


End file.
